Cardiac physiologists/occupational therapists/physios

Hi tsr,
So at the moment, im in clearing and struggling to decided what to go into. I find all of the above mentioned interesting but i dont know whih would be best to go into.
My questions for cardiac physiologists is that, is it mostly locum work and is it an unstable career? Also, how hard is it to progress up the bands in the nhs and how long does it usually take? Do you enjoy your career and what are the pros and cons? Is it mostly shift work with unsocial hours?

Also asking generally,does anyone have an opinion on whether physiotherapists/occupational therapists or cardiac physiologists have better job prospects and stability?

Thanks in advance everyone!

Reply 1

Andremasil

Original post by kawaii sashimi

Where do you live? because cardiac physiologist is like that only in northern Ireland. The rest of the UK you find jobs quite fast. About the courses all of them you get a job really fast in England.

Reply 2

Andremasil

Cardiac physiology is outpatient and you work 9-5, no weekends (i think you can as well) I'm just repeating what I read here o student room... physio and OC I have no idea.

I'm going on that route of cardiac physiology as well. I'm starting health physiology healthcare science at Ulster university next month. I researched a lot, I was undecided between Cardiac and Nursing, but Nursing is too full time for me.. weekends shift and all while being a single mother, is not really "handy" for me.
There is also the forum for Physiotherapy and Occupational therapy, have a read there.
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=1185

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 3

Andremasil

"Cardiac physiology all the way! The specialism is in such dire shortage at the moment, both within the NHS and abroad (NZ, Aus etc...). Hospitals will snap you up and will invest in you in terms of post grad training and other benefits. I have colleageus who work term time only as an incentive to work within the NHS as opposed to industry. Departments tend to treat you better in order to retain you! Or at least this is what experience has shown me. As physiologists we work in a variety of healthcare settings from OP clinics and community work to cardiac cath lab and theatre work. There's even a growing number of physiologists responsible for the minor surgical implantation and programming of medical devices. I'm personally situated in a big tertiary hospital so we often work in more acute areas of care, the PCI lab is an example of this (treating heart attack patients). This setting really highlights the differences between physiologist and nurse. As physiologists we Monitor ECG and heamodynamics, actively feeding back info and guiding the decisions of the doctors. We can provide temporary pacing and specialist diagnostic services, such as intravascular ultrasound, as well as selecting and logging medical equipments and drugs given to the patients. In contrast nurses can be found doing more of a scrub nurse role, opening and prepping equipment e.g. Stents and catheters, taking bloods to check clotting times and administering drugs. Nurses can have more engagement with the patient throughout the case where as we tend to mainly interact with patients when setting them up with monitoring equipment (ECG, BP, SP02 etc). Although this isnt always the case, In some hospital trusts physiologists will provide the bulk of that direct interaction. Within the field of cardiology, physiology also provides much quicker career progression than nursing. You can become an echocardiographer for example, allowing you to earn at a band 7 rate as well as also having opportunity do locum work (£45-50ph). However I'm not sure how this progression compares in terms of other nursing specialisms! Both careers provide equally vital roles, but I guess ultimately nurses provide more of an emotional/ 'pastoral style' Role than a physiologist would, we are more scientific by nature! hope this helps"

Reply 4

kawaii sashimi

Original post by Andremasil

Where do you live? because cardiac physiologist is like that only in northern Ireland. The rest of the UK you find jobs quite fast. About the courses all of them you get a job really fast in England.

Hi!
Im from London, so i think you're right in terms of it being well connected and with having jobs

Reply 5

kawaii sashimi

Original post by Andremasil

Cardiac physiology is outpatient and you work 9-5, no weekends (i think you can as well) I'm just repeating what I read here o student room... physio and OC I have no idea.

I'm going on that route of cardiac physiology as well. I'm starting health physiology healthcare science at Ulster university next month. I researched a lot, I was undecided between Cardiac and Nursing, but Nursing is too full time for me.. weekends shift and all, being a single mother is not really "handy" for me.
There is also the forum for Physiotherapy and Occupational therapy, have a read there.
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=1185

I genuinely thought it to be mostly shift work, which obviously wouldn't allow for a good work-life balance so I was really worried! Im hoping to start healthcare science at SGUL with the intention of specialising in cardiac physiology. I just ended up scaring myself as I couldn't find much on it and didn't know if stable jobs with progression for this career are available or not. I also understand how full on nursing can be, and especially with the circumstance you mentioned, im guessing this career option will let you spend more time with your child(ren) as well. Thank you so much for the link to the forum and the speedy reply as well! it really means a lot to me! I'm fresh out of sixth form and everything, so i'm just so scared of the future and of how much uncertainty there is in life :o:

Reply 6

kawaii sashimi

*bump?*

Reply 7

evaoneill10

I am currently thinking of applying to health physiology next year in ulster and want to go down the route of cardiac physiology. Are there a lot of jobs in NI or will it be a struggle to find?

Reply 8

Ameliark

Original post by kawaii sashimi

Hi tsr,
So at the moment, im in clearing and struggling to decided what to go into. I find all of the above mentioned interesting but i dont know whih would be best to go into.
My questions for cardiac physiologists is that, is it mostly locum work and is it an unstable career? Also, how hard is it to progress up the bands in the nhs and how long does it usually take? Do you enjoy your career and what are the pros and cons? Is it mostly shift work with unsocial hours?
Also asking generally,does anyone have an opinion on whether physiotherapists/occupational therapists or cardiac physiologists have better job prospects and stability?
Thanks in advance everyone!

If you’re UK based I don’t think you’ll struggle with finding a job, I was at the uni of Southampton for a open day and all the third year cardiac physiologists (last year) said that they had job offers months before they graduate and I’ve heard that the demand for cardiac physiologists is higher than the number currently practising

Good luck with your degree search and I hope you find something you really enjoy :smile: